12/20/06 - Brian meets Stuart
Brian stopped for a drink at Woody's before heading over to Cynthia's for a holiday party she was having at her place for Kinnetik employees. He figured a drink would fortify him before an evening of tiring social pleasantries. He didn't figure on who he'd meet at Woody's.
A man a little younger than Brian approached him. "Excuse me. Is your name Brian?"
"Yeah, who's asking?"
"My name is Stuart Weaver. I'm Justin's partner."
"Ah, the famous Stuart. Is Justin here?"
"He'll be here in a while."
Brian offered his hand and the two shook hands. Brian sized him up. He was a couple of years younger than Brian, about 5'10", with brown eyes and curly black hair hitting his collar. He had a nice build and was good-looking. He had a genuine smile and seemed to be very open and friendly. "Can I buy you a shot? I could use one."
Stuart declined. "Beer is as high as I go on the alcohol scale. But, thanks."
Brian motioned for the bartender. "Shot for me and a beer for him, please."
Stuart said sincerely, "Thanks. It's nice to finally meet you."
"How did you know …?"
"Justin's early sketches are mostly of you … in various manner of dress." Stuart said smiling, with a wink.
Brian nodded with a smile on his face, too. "Of course."
"And he is a great artist, so I recognized you right away."
"Where is he?" Brian asked.
"He dropped me off before he headed off to do some last minute shopping. Something for me, I expect. So, he'll be joining me here when he's done. He'll be happy to see you."
Brian wasn't sure if he was ready to see Justin. He was still feeling the pain of their breakup. "Well, I have to head out to a holiday party with some of my employees." He eyed the clock. "Right about now I ought to be fashionably late."
"So, right on time for you then, eh?" Stuart said with a knowing look.
"My reputation precedes me, I see." Brian couldn't help but be amused. "What do you do for a living, Stuart?"
"I work for a cell phone distribution company. Logistical work. It's been very good for me. You're in advertising, right?"
"Yes. I own my own agency, Kinnetik. Justin came up with the name, as a matter of fact."
"Right. He sees your ads in magazines and notes the name." Stuart looked briefly at his cell phone.
"Well, listen, it was nice to meet you, but I should be going." Brian got his coat on.
"That was a text from Justin on my phone. Store was closed, so he'll be here any minute. You should hang around."
"I'm not sure if he'd really want to see me. When he left …" Brian trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"That's water under the bridge now. He told me he was hoping to run into you here."
"I should really go."
Stuart could sense that Brian wanted to leave before Justin got there. "I can tell that you still care about him."
Brian looked at his shot glass. "Yeah, I guess…" He tossed back the shot. "But, he's yours now. Don't worry about me."
"You might not believe this now, but he'll always care about you. You did a lot for him in your time together. You paid for his schooling. You were his first lover. I can't even imagine what all you taught him in that regard. Thank you for that, by the way."
Brian smiled at that. "The boy was a natural from the start." He motioned for one more shot.
Stuart grinned. "I love Justin and I want to make sure he has everything he needs and wants. I'm going to take care of him."
Brian could see the sincerity in the younger man's face. "He wanted things that I wouldn't give him. If you can give him that American dream stuff, more power to you. The husband, the house, the family…"
Stuart tilted his head. "Until we can do it legally, I think that gay marriage is just a … a play that you're in."
Brian got a slow grin on his face at that. He picked up his shot glass and toasted him. "I'll drink to that."
Stuart nodded as he toasted, then said, "But we've set up a legal partnership to protect both of us financially, medically, the whole shot."
The taller man nodded, "My friend Lindsay and her partner Melanie did that, too."
"We are Taylor-Weaver Incorporated. Kinda funny, eh, Taylor … Weaver?"
Brian smirked, then pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket and started to turn to the door.
"Good luck to you both."
"Good luck to you, and Merry Christmas, Brian."
"You, too." They shook hands and Brian left the bar.
As he stepped outside he paused to light a cigarette, and then he heard a familiar voice.
"Brian?"
He turned to see Justin stepping out of his car. Brian's heart gave him a twinge as he saw the younger man approach him. He smiled through it, though, and acknowledged him. "Justin. Hey. How are you?"
Justin put his hands out to offer Brian a hug, which was accepted. "I'm great. And you? You're looking well."
"I'm fantastic."
"C'mon. There's someone I want you to meet." Justin said nodding toward the bar.
"Stuart? We met. He introduced himself."
"He knew you… how?"
"From your sketches … even with my clothes on." Brian smiled.
Justin blushed. "Oh, OK." He looked into his old friend's face. "I love him, Brian."
Brian leaned his head back to exhale his cigarette smoke. "I'm happy for you."
"Do you like him?"
"Yeah. I hope Taylor-Weaver Incorporated has a bright shiny future." Brian answered with his usual dose of sarcasm.
"Can't you stay for a bit?"
"Cynthia is having a Kinnetik social gathering at her place. I've got to go. Merry Christmas, Justin." He kissed the blond on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Brian." Justin watched as Brian disappeared into the night with a cloud of cigarette smoke trailing him.
12/25/06 – Christmas
Brian spent Christmas day and the day after with Gus, Lindsay, Melanie and J.R. in Toronto. He was always happiest these days when he was around his son. Now that Justin was out of his life, Brian's only genuine smiles were for Gus. Lindsay was concerned for her good friend, seeing that he was still having difficulty pulling out of the depression that started over a year before when Justin left.
12/31/06 – Hot in Miami
Brian decided to spend New Years' Eve in Miami that year. He needed to get away and try to forget about Justin. He wanted to go to the parties in the gay neighborhood in Miami, drink and fuck his way through the town. He lost himself amongst the men there and partied for two days. By the time he was flying home, the pain was a little less and he consoled himself in thinking that he got to spend two days having all of the fun that Justin was never going to have again since he'd tied himself down with Stuart.
No one could have predicted what would happen next that would change all of their lives forever.